Once your dam gives birth to her litter, you need to identify and name every puppy in the litter to keep track of vaccinations, monitor their development, and make listings online. As a responsible dog breeder, you should be weighing your pups daily to ensure they’re gaining weight consistently. For breeds with unique markings, like Dalmatians or Australian Shepherds, this is pretty easy! Simply mark down each puppy’s sex, name, and a unique marking on its coat. But for breeds that have solid coats, like Golden Retrievers or Chocolate Labs, differentiating between your pups may be difficult. Here are some ways you can identify the puppies in your litter.
Colored Ribbon or String
One popular way of identifying look-alike puppies is by tying different colored ribbons or string around your puppies’ necks. You’ll want to be careful to tie them tight enough that they won’t slip out but loose enough that you’re not hurting the pups. Check on the strings or ribbons daily as the puppies grow; cut them off and re-tie them as soon as you can’t fit a finger between their necks and the strings.
Velcro Collars
You can alternatively find velcro collars, also known as whelping collars, that function in a similar way to string and ribbon. They make collars with different colors or with name tags you can write on. The velcro helps you adjust the collars daily so that you don’t need to cut them off and re-tie them, like with ribbon or string.
Non-Toxic Nail Polish or Sharpie
The final recommendation for identifying look-alike puppies is a non-toxic marking of some kind. This could be different nail polish on their claws, colored permanent markers on their bellies, or a number of paint dots marking who was delivered first, second, third, and so on. It’s very important that you use non-toxic materials so that you don’t harm your pups in this crucial stage of development. With this method, you won’t need to re-adjust their markings every day but you may need to re-apply their markings every couple of days as they wear off.
List Your Puppies Online
Once you’ve identified your litter and monitored their growth over the first 6 weeks, it becomes time to list them for sale. Find interested buyers online with Lancaster Puppies. You can link puppies in a litter together, saving you time and helping customers find all of your available puppies. Register an account today.